Dear Lord: So far today, I'm doing alright. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, selfish or nasty. I have not gossiped, cursed, whined or eaten chocolate. However, I am going to get out of bed in a minute, and will need a lot more help then. Amen.

But all this time I have been thinking of her as MEEEK-a...and it is really MIKE-a!!

« Last Edit: September 22, 2009, 11:19:52 PM by georgiapeach »

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Is true Pedaler .. it wasn't aired we guessed because it was a waste, Lance and Keri were ahead of them.And While I'm here .......Mika and Canaan <<<<<<<<<<3333333333333 .. they are too cute and they make me laugh, first the dragon dance in HCMC then Canaan's monkey act last night, too frigging funny! I adore this team The Queen Elizabeth confessional had me cracking up but in defense of Canaan, they were asked about the Queen in the interview and the editors made it seem like they were clueless, but still, it was funny

hey guys! I have something to tell you about this team and it's a coincidental.

Have you noticed something about their names that sounds like Japanese and you might thought that they're the Japanese team? I'll tell you why, when I'd read an anime magazine which I'd bought it yesterday, the name Canaan is actually the name of a new Japanese anime series which is based from a Nintendo Wii game of the same name. And here's the info of that series: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10270 While Mika is a female Japanese name which means a new moon. And probably the reason why Tokyo was the 1st city to go on a race for TAR 15 but the Tokyo leg is very short one unlike others and they should had made more tasks on that city or country that is related to it like dressing a costume from a cosplay convension there or draw an anime character besides eating wasabi bomb. Well, I wonder what will the Japanese locals will say to it if they already watch this season of TAR on their country.

So I'll be damn if I didn't knew or noticed it immediately but sadly both of them didn't knew about Jackie Kennedy on a picture from Cambodia leg.

Amazing Race's Canaan: I Was Not Abusive Toward Mika on the Waterslide

Monday, October 26, 2009Last updated 2:18 p.m. PT

By JOYCE ENGTV GUIDE

Canaan Smith, 26, and Mika Combs, 22, saw their Amazing Race dreams slide away when Mika, paralyzed by her fear of water and heights, couldn't take the plunge down the Leap of Faith waterslide in Dubai, allowing Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy to pass them. "I knew I had to go," Mika tells TVGuide.com. "I knew in my heart I would be OK, that I wouldn't die or anything, but it's six stories high and I just couldn't do it." See what else the couple has to say about her teary meltdown that played out for 45 minutes. Plus: Did they really think Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was Queen Elizabeth?

TVGuide.com: Mika, I think everyone's wondering why you would go on the race if you're afraid of heights and water.Mika: Right. I had these fears before the race and when I watched the show, I said, "You know what? I think I can do it for $1 million." When I got there, I realized that no matter what situation or what circumstance you're in, you are still yourself. Unfortunately, I couldn't overcome my fears on the race. It was probably the worst feeling I've ever had, being there on the top of the slide, wanting to go in a sense, but at the same time being so terrified of going.

TVGuide.com: Canaan, a lot of people think you were abusive toward her, trying to push her and pulling her fingers off the bar. Do you think you were out of line?Canaan: Abusive my butt! I did what any competitive person would do. I wanted to win the race. I tried every angle for 45 minutes. I tried being sweet, understanding and patient with Mika, and that wasn't working. I tried being forceful and brash, and that wasn't working. Going into the race, I knew if we got to the point where we had to jump off a building or anything like that and she was going to hold us up, I would push her. I don't regret trying to do that. I don't think it was abusive in the least. I think people need to take another look at what abuse means.Mika: I think he realized how strong I really was when he was trying to push me! I had a death grip on that handle. That's what fear does to you. You become so strong because you're so afraid. There was a lifeguard at the top. At one point, Canaan was trying to peel me off the wall and I looked at [the lifeguard] and went, "Please help me!" And he just stared at me. [Laughs] I tried to get help, but nobody helped.

TVGuide.com: I thought Flight Time and Big Easy showing up would give you an incentive to go. What went through your mind when they came?Mika: When I saw them, I knew I only had two minutes [to complete it before yielding to them]. I thought, "If I went down now, it probably won't be worth it because Big Easy's legs are about as tall as I am." So if I went, they probably would've won in a footrace.

TVGuide.com: They were psyching you out and Canaan, you didn't appreciate that.Canaan: I understand it was the competitive thing to do. It was kind of like trash-talking on the basketball court, but Big Easy knows better. He has a daughter and if his daughter was on the slide having an absolute fit and I was up there taunting her, he wouldn't have liked that. ... What they didn't show was that I tried to fight Big Easy. I didn't actually fight him because I would've been a fool to do that, but I went up to him and Flight Time and got up in their face. I was like, "This is ridiculous! Shut up! She's a mess right now!"

TVGuide.com: Canaan, you seemed to have cooled down by the time you reached the Pit Stop. Had you accepted that Mika couldn't do it and were OK with it?Canaan: I wasn't OK with it. It really hurt. You never want to go out that way. But at the same time, I understand how irrational fear can be. If I were the one terribly afraid of those things, there'd be nothing I could do. Unfortunately, nobody can overcome it for you. I realized at that point to hold it against Mika would be ridiculous. I had to stand by her and look at the positives instead of thinking it was the end of the road for us.

TVGuide.com: I've been dying to ask you this: Why did you think Jackie Kennedy was Queen Elizabeth?Canaan: We never did! [Laughs] That was an edit. We actually said what the locals kept telling us, which was — edit — "It was a picture of Queen Elizabeth" — edit — and it made us look like idiots. Somebody asked afterward us who we thought it was and I guessed, "I don't know, one of the Kennedys or something?" ... Mika also never said [Kennedy Onassis] was of Cambodian descent; she said "they were."Mika: [I was talking about] the guy in the car with her that I think was Cambodian and all the people around them, who were Cambodian.Canaan: We're fine with the edit, but there were a couple blond moments that were completely accurate! Like when she thought she was going 120 mph, not 120 kph, and said it felt like she was going 60 [mph]. And this leg when she said, "Does a Muslim clock work differently?" [Laughs] But we did not call Jackie Kennedy Queen Elizabeth! We're not the dumb blondes everyone thinks we were. Well, Mika is!Mika: The 60 mph thing — I was like, "Did I just say that?"

TVGuide.com: What's next for you guys?Canaan: We're going to take over the world next! Actually, our music careers are taking off. I have a Top 10 single [that he co-wrote] on the country charts right now ["Runaway"] with a band called Love and Theft. I'm in the process of shopping for a record deal. I think the race really makes you comfortable in your own skin. One thing that I took from it was learning to make decisions for me that worked for me, regardless of what other people are doing. I'm going to apply that to my career.Mika: I actually just did a music video for Boys Like Girls. I'm doing some television stuff, some music.

TVGuide.com: And you guys are still together. The waterslide didn't break you up.Canaan: Nope. It's just a speed bump on our journey! [Laughs]

Last night, on The Amazing Race, teams continued their journey through Dubai, where they battled temperatures up to 130 degrees. The last task of the leg was to take a leap of faith down a six story waterslide. The height became too much for Mika and she refused to go down the slide. After trying to gently convince her to go (and not getting anywhere), Canaan resorted to attempting to physically push her down the slide as she screamed for help. He took the leap of faith but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. They were the last team to arrive at the pit stop and were eliminated from the competition. Today, they spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for The Amazing Race this season?A. Canaan: We actually had a friend who had done a reality show before. We thought that it sounded really cool. It was kind of on a whim. Mika and I had just met and we thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know each other.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Any hesitation about going on the race together? It’s been known to take its toll on many a couple.A. Mika: We didn’t really think about it. We just kind of went with it. We were like, “Okay cool, let’s go around the world.” We’re still together and things are great!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did the two of you talk beforehand about how you wanted to handle the pressure of the race and how you wanted to deal with one another?A. Canaan: I guess, going into it, we didn’t have much of an advantage there because we hadn’t learned a whole lot about each other. Some people had been married and some people had been together for years but we had a fresh outlook.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were you working with anyone along the way?A. Mika: We were all so close to each other. We all kind of helped each other out all the time. We weren’t working with somebody closely the way the poker girls and the brothers are.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Victor, who won last season, writes for RealityWanted and he said that he thought the racers are almost too nice. How did you feel about the camaraderie on the show?A. Canaan: I thought it was great! There was really never a moment when it got too nasty. We all showed support for each other. There were times when you needed to just focus on the race but most of the time, it was great.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Mika, you must’ve known that you’d have to face your fear of heights somewhere along the race. Initially, did you think that you’d be able to handle it if it came up?A. Mika: I did think so! I’ve watched the show in the past and I thought, “For a million dollars, I can do that.” When it came down to really doing that, it was a lot harder than I imagined. It was just me being me. The million dollars didn’t mean that much.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Canaan, any regrets about trying to force her down the slide?A. Canaan: No, not at all. I think I would’ve done what any other competitive human being would’ve done. I was sweet and gentle with her at first. With a million bucks on the line, I was willing to push her down the slide and I told her that. I stand by what I did.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You were upset with the way that the Globetrotters tried to ensure that Mika didn’t go down the slide. Have they apologized to you?A. Mika: Yeah, Big Easy apologized so many times and he’s a great guy. My understanding of the whole thing is that they’re basketball players and that’s what they do on the court. That’s what comes natural to them. In a way, I couldn’t believe that they acted like that towards me but that was their competitiveness.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It seems that you made real friends while on the show. Who do you still talk to?A. Canaan: We stay in touch with all of them. Lance and Keri are great people. Contrary to popular opinion, he’s a great guy.A. Mika: Marcy visited San Francisco and we did some photography together. We talk to everyone!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Are you two still working on your music?A. Canaan: Yeah, we’re definitely still playing music. I’m a songwriter in Nashville and an artist. Mika’s an artist and an actress. I’ve got a song on the radio called “Runaway” by Love and Theft. It’s number 10 on the Billboard charts and it’s doing really well. Mika just got a really important music video, the new Boys Like Girls video featuring Taylor Swift. Things are really looking up! We’re just chasing our dreams.

When Mika Combs spent 30 minutes debating whether or not to go down a six-foot waterslide before her The Amazing Race experience with boyfriend Canaan Smith, both should've known they'd be in trouble.

Mika's fear of water and heights resulted in the newly dating country singers from Nashville, TN becoming the sixth team eliminated from The Amazing Race's fifteenth season during last night's broadcast of the CBS reality series.

On Monday, Mika and Canaan talked to Reality TV World about how they thought Mika would be able to overcome her fears while on the show; why Mika's battle with the six-foot waterslide before the show caused their ouster to be ironic; how Canaan was able to forgive his girlfriend; and why Mika's experience on Fox's short-lived Nashville docu-reality series didn't really help her on The Amazing Race.

Reality TV World: Mika, every The Amazing Race season always seems to have at least a couple of Roadblock or Detour tasks that involve extreme heights or water -- whether it's something like bungie jumping, high-board diving, paragliding, or rock climbing. Why did you go on the show if you had such a bad fear of heights and water -- did you think you'd be able to overcome those fears or were you just hoping this season wouldn't feature those types of tasks?

Mika: I pretty much assumed there would be something. I knew in my heart there would be. I thought it would be an opportunity for me to try and overcome my fears. But when I was there in the moment I realized I'm just who I am and I'm scared to death of heights and water. Before the show -- before we left -- I did my best to try to overcome some fears. I couldn't really swim, so I was trying to learn how to swim.

Canaan: She actually went down a waterslide off the back of a pontoon boat about two weeks before we left.

Mika: But it was six-feet high! So I knew that it was coming. I just thought that somehow we could... I don't know. I don't know what I thought. But any ways I thought I could overcome it.

Reality TV World: So Canaan, it sounds like you knew Mika had these fears. Did you just think they weren't that bad?

Canaan: I told her from the beginning if we get to a challenge where she was holding us up because she wouldn't jump or wouldn't go over the edge than I'd push her butt. (laughing) But I wasn't scared about that. I figured that we'd be able to overcome anything together really.

I also figured that if it came to it, that if I was allowed to push her over the edge then I certainly would. I tried on the waterslide last night. Unfortunately the rules of the game prevented me from being able to do that. But if not, I'd of done it for sure. (laughing)

Reality TV World: You guys certainly sound like you knew this could be a problem. Had you anticipated or imagined that type of task could be the way your The Amazing Race journey would end?

Canaan: Not at all. It's so ironic just because two weeks before that we were out on the lake with all of our friends in Nashville and this pontoon boat and like we said, she sat on this little six-foot waterslide for 30 minutes trying to go down.

We're all coaxing her -- trying to convince her to go down -- and I remember one of my friends told me, he was concerned, he was like, "Listen dude, you're going around the world together. I'm afraid she's going to hold you up with something like this." So it's completely ironic that it was a waterslide that ended our journey. But at the same time, we did it because we were confident that we could learn from this whole trip together and grow from it.

Reality TV World: Mika, a fear of height and a fear of water -- a waterslide would presumably be a terrible combination of those two fears. What was the bigger issue for you -- was it more an issue of the height or the water or were they about equal?

Mika: Probably the height.

Reality TV World: That's what I figured.

Mika: When I was sitting at the top it was just straight down. I didn't even want to look at the bottom because I was too scared.

Reality TV World: Do you think there was any way you would have eventually gone down that waterslide?

Mika: I think if I would have went down the waterslide it would have had to of been one of those things where I just went automatically and didn't think about it. But that's so hard for me. It's just so tough.

Reality TV World: You'd made your fear of heights and water abundantly clear throughout the season -- but you were still able to deal with both on separate occasions. Why do you think weren't you able to overcome it this time?

Mika: Well the times before I didn't have to do anything extreme with them. At the Burj Dubai [the world's tallest building] walking out on the balcony wasn't that big of a deal because I didn't have to get on the edge or jump off or anything crazy like that. Then in the boats, it was pretty scary but it wasn't extreme. It was just in the water.

Reality TV World: Canaan, in your mind was there anything you could have done to get her to go down that you didn't try?

Canaan: No, because I tried everything. I started out sweet and sensitive -- the hands off approach -- and then realized that the clock was ticking. So I tried to kind of help her along myself. Neither one was working and I realized that. There was nothing I could do.

Reality TV World: After you two were eliminated, Canaan you said that you weren't holding Mika's inability to go down the slide against her.

Canaan: Yeah.

Reality TV World: But you seemed to be doing just that when you guys were at the top of the waterslide and you were pushing her and yelling that she was going to make you lose the race. Did you have some kind of a change of heart on the way to the Pit Stop?

Canaan: I don't know. We're real human beings, and if something happens like that to any other competitive guy in the world they're going to be pissed off. You spend so much of your time and energy going around the world and a stupid waterslide is going to hold it up? So I was completely upset and I embraced my emotions at the top. But when I got to the bottom I realized Mika's got to be feeling the same way.

She's going to be feeling like she let me down. There's no worse feeling on the Earth than regret, and there's no worse action on my part than unforgiveness. Not working together would have been terrible for us individually and for our relationship. I'm forgiven for so many things in my life that it would be silly to not pass along forgiveness to Mika for not being able to overcome something that ultimately she had no control over.

Reality TV World: How long were you at the top of the waterslide before "Teammates" Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nathaniel "The Big Easy" Lofton arrived?

Canaan: About 30 to 40 minutes. Yeah, it was a long time. (laughing)

Reality TV World: Were you aware of the two-minute rule before they got there?

Canaan: Absolutely.

Reality TV World: Okay, so that was stated to you beforehand?

Canaan: Yeah. One of the strategies I took was to try and make Mika believe that they were coming up the steps right then and there. "You have two minutes, no more than two minutes." But those two minutes turned into 10, and then 20, and then 30 before they actually became really two minutes.

Reality TV World: So Mika the two minutes didn't really have any bearing on your attempts to go down?

Mika: It did. There was a point where I was sitting at the top like, "Okay, I'm sitting here. All I have to do is let go." In a way it did, but in a way it just didn't. The fear was controlling me.

Reality TV World: Canaan you seemed upset by the fact that Flight Time and Big Easy were giving Mika a hard time and even called Big Easy a "piece of crap" as he went down the slide. Do you still think their behavior was over the line, given the show is a competition?

Canaan: I think it was a little bit of both. I definitely think in the moment that it was over the line considering that Big Easy himself has multiple children. If his little girl was at the top of the slide in a fit of fear and tears and I came along and told her, "Don't so it, you'll get hurt. Just stay here. Don't go down the slide" -- knowing that that's making her even more upset -- I think he would be pretty pissed about that. So I actually jumped up and I went up into his face.

They didn't show any of this, but I gave it to him. I told him it's ridiculous, and I told him to shut up. I tried to make him stop, but they just kept going. I understand that it's a race and you're trying to do whatever it takes.

They're used to trash-talking on the basketball court, but this was a little bit different in my eyes because it was real emotions -- a girl that they knew was terribly afraid and in the moment she as having a difficult time. So to capitalize on somebody else's fear was too much.

Reality TV World: Were you guys simply hoping that it was a non-elimination leg?

Mika: I was praying walking up [to the Pit Stop]. I was like, "Let this be..." It was halfway through, I was like, "Maybe there's a glimmer of hope." But...

Canaan: Yeah, I did to. We were due for one! (laughing)

Reality TV World: What was the reaction of the other teams when they learned what caused your elimination?

Canaan: They were very sympathetic towards us. They felt terrible just because it was such a bad way to go out and we had done so well on that leg -- we had gained a lot of ground, we were cruising through all the challenges. So I think a lot of people just felt terrible for us.

They felt sorry for Mika, that she had to feel so afraid in the moment. And they felt sorry for me. We had good support. We had a lot of good support.

Reality TV World: One of the funnier moments in the season was with the Jackie Kennedy photo in Cambodia, when Canaan you thought it was Queen Elizabeth...

Canaan: I really didn't. That was an edit. We were asking the locals throughout the day, "Who was in the picture?" The locals kept saying it was a picture of Queen Elizabeth.

Those were my words exactly when I was in the interview: "The locals kept saying it was a picture of Queen Elizabeth." If you go back and watch the edit, and look at my emotions and my inflections when I'm saying it was a picture of Queen Elizabeth. You'll see it was edited.

Reality TV World: So when did you learn when it was Jackie Kennedy, when you saw the photo at the hotel?

Canaan: Yeah. In an interview later on somebody asked, "Do you have any idea who it was?" At this point we still didn't know, so we took a guess. I remember guessing one of the Kennedys, and I was obviously right. But they chose to make us look like the blonde southerners. (Mika laughs)

Reality TV World: Mika, you had previously appeared on Fox's Nashville reality show a couple of years ago. That show's format was obviously different from The Amazing Race, but do you think that previous reality experience ended up giving you any advantages or disadvantages over any of the other teams?

Mika: No, not really. The show Nashville, I mean it was good experience in front of the camera. But when you're on The Amazing Race it's not even like you're on a TV show. It's like it's just you and the world and you're trying to get to the next clue. (laughing)

Reality TV World: What's the current status of your relationship? Are you guys still dating?

Canaan: We sure are.

Reality TV World: After you were eliminated, was there anybody you really began rooting to win the $1 million? Was there anybody you didn't want to see win?

Canaan: Well [previously eliminated team Lance Layne and Keri Morrione] are still going to win if you can believe it or not. (laughing)

Mika: Lance with those roundhouse kicks...

Canaan: Lance will use his kung-fu master skills. But no, we were pulling for everybody. Everyone was a friend.

Mika: It sounds cliche, but we pretty much got close to everybody else out there.

Reality TV World: So you got along with everybody?

Mika: Yeah.

Canaan: For the most part, yeah.

Reality TV World: What was your favorite overall experience on the show?

Mika: I loved Tokyo and even though Dubai was the end of our journey, it was great to see the world's tallest building -- even though I'm scared of heights -- it was an amazing sight to see.

Canaan: I loved the feeling you would get from being placed in these completely bizarre scenarios that you would never otherwise be in -- like walking onto the Japanese game show. You're placed in these environments where it's just out-of-body, and I love the out of body experience.

It's so cool to be able to travel the world, but to be able to travel the world on a scavenger hunt where you don't know where the next thing is coming, that's the ultimate thing. So I loved it all.

Reality TV World: What aspect of The Amazing Race surprised you the most?

Canaan: Surprised us? That no one could ever get ahead. All the teams got on the same flights and all ended up catching up and finishing...

Mika: With a footrace.

Canaan: ... in a footrace. So it was really surprising that we all ended up on the same flights and nobody could get ahead.

Reality TV World: Was there anything that you wanted to make it onto the show that was edited out?

Canaan: My fight at the top of the stairs with Big Easy. That would've been awesome. Umm... We had a really good heated argument -- Mika and I did -- in Dubai. They only showed a clip of me throwing my bag into the trunk and trying to communicate with our taxi driver. But her and I laid into each other pretty good. (Mika laughs)

Reality TV World: How were you cast for The Amazing Race? Was it your first time applying for the show?

Canaan: It was our first time. Our story was that we're the newly dating country singers. That's the truth, we've only known each other for a short amount of time and we're both country music singers and songwriters. That was our platform.

Reality TV World: Are you guys still pursuing country music?

Canaan: Yeah, it's going great. I actually just found out today that a song that I wrote called "Runaway" by a band called Love and Theft is on the Billboard country charts for the third week at the No. 10 spot.

I'm so sad that this team got eliminated, heck they were my favorite team this season. I am proud of the way Canaan treated Mika after they were eliminated, even if he was a little harsh on her at the water slide itself.

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Nashville songwriter Canaan Smith, 26, and his aspiring country singer sweetheart Mika Combs, 22, had no problem taking a figurative leap of faith by joining The Amazing Race only a few months into their relationship. Yet it was the literal plunge at Dubai’s Atlantis Resort that ended their reality-show run—but not their romance. —Carrie Bell

Considering your combined lack of travel experience, Mika’s laundry list of fears and the fact that you’ve been a couple for less than a year, you guys lasted longer than anyone expected.

Canaan: Even though [Sunday] night made it look like it, we are not quitters. We’re both dreamers. We pursue everything that we dream and we believe in it before it happens. We were the underdogs but we never gave up. Everybody loves an underdog.

Was it naïve to think you could handle whatever producers cooked up despite the aforementioned obstacles?

Canaan: We really thought we could handle anything. We went on the show to have a great time together and learn more about each other and win a million dollars. We had an agreement to go for it all out and do whatever it takes. We knew Mika would be terrified in that type of scenario and I told her from the beginning that I would push her if I had to. And I definitely tried to push her, but she had a death grip. Unfortunately, fear is so irrational and paralyzing that it won in this instance.

From the couch, it didn’t look that scary, certainly easier than bungee jumping. Can you explain what was going on in your head for the 25 minutes who were on the platform before the Globetrotters arrived.

Mika: Before the Race, I tried to learn to swim. If it had been something like swim across a pool, I could have managed, especially with the floaties. But the Leap of Faith combined my two worst fears of heights and water. The slide was six stories high and they told me I would go about 45 miles an hour and end in water. I was a train wreck.

Big Easy didn’t make it any easier by taunting Mika. Do you still think he’s “a piece of crap” for doing it?

Canaan: I understand they’re basketball players who trash talk daily and that it’s a competition. But if it had been Big Easy’s little girl sitting on that slide in a fit of hysterics, he would not be cool with me capitalizing on her fears and taunting her. He has since apologized and made it right. They are cool guys, but it was the wrong approach and unnecessary. Even if she’d done it, there was no time to wait and we wouldn’t beat them in a foot race.

Canaan, you eventually went down.

Canaan: I knew it was over for us once the Globetrotters went down and I was mad so I needed to get away. The slide was a piece of cake, but as I was going down, it took my stomach and breath away and I thought, “Oh gosh, Mika would have hated this.”

Do you regret not facing your fears?

Mika: Definitely. Even watching [Sunday], I wished so bad that I was like the other people in the Race. Some of the others were scared but they still went down. I was paralyzed. I can’t take it back so I’m not going to let it haunt me. We’ve moved on.

Was this the most trying moment of your relationship to date?

Canaan: In the moment, it was nearly impossible for me to handle. I was completely pissed. She was completely terrified. I thought if I could stay beside her and talk I might be able to coax her through it.

Mika: Knowing that if I didn’t go down the slide we would lose was probably the hardest moment in my whole life. I let my teammate, who I care about deeply, and myself down. I cost us a million dollars because I could not go down that stupid slide.

Did the relationship survive the test?

Canaan: We’re still together. We’re better for it. Forgiveness is supreme. It feels a lot better than resentment.

Mika: He was mad in the moment but he forgave me quickly and understood.

Did the experience make you want to take it to the next level? Perhaps get engaged like fellow Racers Garrett and Jess?

Canaan: Oh heavens to Betsy. We love each other and we’re happy with that for now.

Mika: And we’re best friends. We’re taking it day by day hanging out and having a good time.

Canaan: It has been really fun meeting fans of the show. We’re signing autographs left and right. It is a taste of what we believe is to come as far as our careers taking off. As a songwriter, being a guy who tears open a clue that leads you to an unknown destination every morning and being thrown into these bizarre situations provided tons of inspiration.

Mika: And it made us want to travel more. We want to go back and take time to experience those places. I was just stunned by all the lights and the tall buildings in Dubai. You just can’t believe your eyes that something like the Burj Dubai is real. We’d definitely go back when it was cooler.